General Description: Gray Flycatchers (Empidonax wrightii) are small, sexually monomorphic birds. As with other members of the genus, Empids are small, drab flycatchers with eye rings and wingbars. Most Empids have a bit of yellow-green on the back and belly, but Gray Flycatchers usually do not. Gray Flycatchers have a gray head, so the light eye-ring may be hard to see. Most Empids flick their tail upward, but Gray Flycatchers flick their tail downward. The call is a loud "wit!" The lower mandible is yellow with a black tip.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Tyrannidae, Fluvicolinae.

Favored Habitat: Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands; higher-elevation Mojave Desert Scrub.

Where to Find: During migration, Gray Flycatchers can be found everywhere, but when you look for them, they are nowhere to be found; check Corn Creek and the Henderson BVP. These birds breed in middle-elevation forests in places like Mt. Charleston and the Sheep Range.

Comments: In southern Nevada, Dusky, Hammond’s, and Western flycatchers pass through or breed, and all look similar. Gray and Dusky give a similar "whit" call, so telling them apart by call isn't reliable. However, Gray and Dusky have the habit of moving their tails while perched. Dusky Flycatchers flick the tail upwards, while Gray dip the tail downward. Keep in mind: "Duskies Don't Dip Down," and "Gray Goes to Ground."